Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

When Father Tony opened the hefty box and took out the new gadget he mentioned, Du Wei's expression was slightly astonished.

"A lighter? And a Cartier one at that… Can this thing really deal with Evil Spirits? I think it would be more suitable for lighting cigarettes."

"No, no, no, Mr. Du Wei, it doesn't light."

"Then what's the point?"

…

Glancing at the lighter Father Tony was showing him, Du Wei didn't know how to connect this item with combating Evil Spirits.

The silver-white case was divided into two parts, resembling the design of a Zippo lighter, but the engraved patterns were of a very ancient style; the upper half was a clock, while the lower half was two intertwined anchors.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

It wasn't a branded item, but most importantly, it didn't light…

Father Tony said to Du Wei in an uncertain tone, "I'm not entirely sure about this lighter either, because the church hasn't tested it. But it's theorized that when it does light, it inflicts some damage on Evil Spirits."

Speechless, Du Wei said, "But it doesn't light."

Father Tony replied awkwardly, "It will light when you're up against an Evil Spirit."

"And then? What does the so-called damage look like?"

"I'm not quite sure, since I'm just a logistics person. However, it probably has something to do with its owner."

"Please explain."

"Its owner was a retired teacher who died in March this year, and after he passed, the church collected this lighter while gathering some items. Since the mirror I had here had already been used by you, the church sent the lighter over as well."

"I see, but what do you mean by collecting? Is the church looking for these special items?"

"Yes, they all possess somewhat peculiar powers... it's possible that they once served as mediums for Evil Spirits, but I don't know the specifics."

"Alright then..."

…

After leaving the church, Du Wei carried an extra handbag and a display cabinet in his hands.

These were given by Father Tony, containing supplies from the church; as for the lighter, it was tucked away in his pocket.

He was in dire need of money now.

Although, since becoming an Exorcist, such items were normally dispensed without the need to purchase them. However, Du Wei was also responsible for dealing with certain Evil Spirit incidents in return.

For instance...

The matter concerning Mrs. Mina and her child.

Reaching his brand new Subaru, Du Wei opened the door, started the sedan, and slowly left the church, heading home.

By this time, the sun had already set, and the sky was very dim.

Although only a single day had passed, the events experienced seemed excessive and cumbersome.

The matter alone of the Horror House had left Du Wei drained and nearly cost him his life inside.

He felt that once he got home, he should take a bath and relax properly.

…

It was 20:10 in the evening.

On the street opposite the psychological consulting clinic.

After parking his car, Du Wei locked the doors with his belongings in hand.

Upon arriving at the entrance, he noticed five black sedans parked at his neighbor Roy's house.

But there were no people to be seen.

"Doesn't look like police cars..."

Staring silently at the cars for a moment, Du Wei then turned to glance at Roy's house.

Like the psychological consulting clinic, Roy's two-story house had a small half-story attic, but it was now cordoned off with tape, and the police had hung a 'No Entry' sign on the door.

After Roy died, the situation was artificially controlled; in fact, besides those in the know, it didn't cause much of a stir.

Essentially, in everyone's eyes, it was just another murder case, nothing out of the ordinary.

It even failed to significantly affect the people living nearby or the shops along the street.

Everything was as usual.

After watching for a while and not detecting anything unusual, Du Wei opened the door and entered the house.

At the same time, he subconsciously entered the state of Spirit Vision.

What met his eyes was the faint moonlight and the light from the street lamps spilling into the room, which was somewhat reassuring.

The sound that reached his ears was the ticking of the Antique Clock, the sound of the hour hand moving.

It seemed that the evil spirits at home were quite well-behaved.

"Phew..."

Du Wei let out a sigh of turbid air and pressed the light switch.

In an instant, the room became brightly lit, and all the arrangements were just as they were before he left.

Then, he walked over to the sofa, put down his handbag and display case, and took off his backpack.

He unzipped the backpack, and there lay Annabelle, tightly wrapped in white cloth, silent within.

"I need to put it into the display case."

Du Wei said to himself, knowing that it was a very troublesome matter, needing to enter the Third Phase of Spirit Vision and grasp Annabelle with his Evil Spirit Transformed Right Hand.

Otherwise, once the white cloth was lifted, it could possibly escape.

Thus, Du Wei opened the display case and simultaneously entered the Third Phase of Spirit Vision; with his left hand, he grabbed the white cloth, while his Evil Spirit Transformed Right Hand reached for Annabelle.

The next second.

The white cloth was lifted, and the Evil Spirit Doll, about 40 centimeters long, was revealed in front of Du Wei.

It was modeled after a girl, with two ponytails, disproportionate facial features, large eyes, and something like blush on its cheeks, which made it appear somewhat creepy.

But since Du Wei had previously sprinkled half a bottle of Bone Powder on it to quiet it down, the effect was almost like that of sulfuric acid.

So now Annabelle resembled something corroded, its surface riddled with countless small pits, giving it an odd sense of grotesqueness.

Anyone else probably would have considered it just a discarded doll because it was so ugly.

But Du Wei knew all too well how terrifying and evil it was.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly.

Du Wei barely felt anything out of the ordinary, easily locked Annabelle into the display case, and throughout the whole process, not the slightest change occurred.

The lights didn't flicker.

Spirit Vision also didn't reveal anything amiss, not even an overt hint of malice.

"Something isn't right."

Du Wei frowned as he looked at Annabelle inside the display case, its silence was a bit too much, almost indistinguishable from a random doll on the street.

If he hadn't grabbed it himself, Du Wei might even think he had targeted the wrong thing.

"Very strange..."

For some reason, Du Wei always felt that Annabelle wouldn't just quietly allow itself to be enclosed in the display case.

"I should be more cautious, perhaps putting it next to the bed in the bedroom isn't a very good decision."

As Du Wei said this, he also glanced at his Right Hand.

The Evil Spirit Transformation had spread to half of his arm, but the skin of his entire Right Hand looked cold and lifeless, like that of a corpse that had just died.

This had never been mentioned in Andrew Dowqui's booklets.

He knew that some unknown changes were occurring in his body.